Tompkins Financial Corporation HQ Construction Update, 2/2018

23022018

About the only major exterior facade work left on Tompkins Financial’s new headquarters is the stone veneer on the front face. I don’t have information on file on what kind of stone it is apart from a generic “stone veneer” description. It may be cast stone, a concrete masonry product mixed and molded to resemble natural-cut stone.

Over the blue and black air/vapor barriers, Dow TUFF-R polyiso rigid foam insulating boards are being laid between rails. Atop those, a second set of steel rails, called continuous anchors, are attached to the building. When the polyiso is attached and the rails are screwed on, the stone panels are slid into place, and then they’re mortared or caulked with silicone. There will be a gap between the polyiso and the stone that serves as a drainage cavity for water that gets absorbed and needs to be eliminated. The whole process is about keeping moisture from seeping inward and damaging the more sensitive building materials like the gypsum boards, while allowing any latent moisture in the materials (having been exposed to the elements during construction) to escape outward.

The entrance canopy is up, and steel clasps for the sunshade installs on the front are ready for when the facade is nearing completion. The lights are on, and one can presume that with three months left in the schedule, most of the big interior tasks (utilities, drywall, fixtures) have been completed. Parts of the granite base appear to be in place, but most of the ground floor and its parking area remain a work in progress.